CASE-IN at IRNTU: projects for the development of leading industries presented to experts

On March 14, IRNTU hosted the qualifying stage of the XIII International Engineering CASE IN Championship in geological exploration, metallurgy, oil and gas and mining. The polytechnic teams presented projects in the interests of UC RUSAL, PJSC YATEK and JSC ALROSA. The winners will compete in the semi-finals of the CASE-IN. The theme of the 2025 championship is "Technological Innovation".

Mikhail Kornyakov, Rector of IRNTU, spoke at the opening of the qualifying stage: "The CASE-IN Championship serves as a metric for selecting candidates for large industrial companies. Industry representatives see the participation of young people in a large-scale engineering tournament, and they understand which specialists should be invited to cooperate. Irkutsk Polytechnic University is pleased that interest in the championship as a serious professional venue is growing."

Oilfans has become the best team in the oil and gas business. Nikolay Timofeev, an expert on training and staff development at YATEK, who previously headed the specialized department at the NEFU named after M.K. Ammosov, congratulated the students on their victory.

"The Yakutsk Fuel and Energy Company, as part of the CASE-IN, has set the task of transporting reduced natural gas to the domestic and foreign markets. Students have developed logistics chains, indicating monetization options and ways to solve emerging problems. The defense showed a creative approach and well-developed professional competencies. Future oilmen provided comprehensive answers to experts' questions, which indicates a high level of engineering education at IRNTU," Nikolai Timofeev commented on the results.

In the metallurgy qualifying stage, the best team was Mangaliy-27, which received diplomas from Nina Nemchinova, Head of the Department of Metallurgy of Non-Ferrous Metals. The student project was noted by RUSAL representatives in the Irkutsk region, including Evgeny Tabakov, manager of the Department of Planning and analysis of the electrolysis production of IrkAZ.

According to participant Sofia Bogorodskaya, the purpose of the case was to recycle waste from sludge fields to increase production profitability.

"We proposed to return coke dust to the technological process, which is stored in the amount of 80%, creating a burden on the environment. Experts have shown which equipment is best suited for waste reuse. I got acquainted with the topic in 2024: as a member of the Noble Iridium team, I became the best in the qualifying stage and took part in the final CASE-IN. The championship serves as an indicator of the knowledge and skills that I acquire at university and at work at IRGIREDMET JSC. With my success, I continue the family business – my dad and brother had previously graduated with honors from the polytechnic, becoming a metallurgist," said Sofia Bogorodskaya.

"Mariki" distinguished themselves in mining – representatives of the Department of surveying and geodesy, activists of the NGO "Alidada". According to fifth-year student Danil Kirikov, the students were faced with the task of optimizing drilling and blasting operations at the fields of ALROSA in Yakutia.

"The team studied the scientific and practical literature, in which the fracturing of the rock massif is named as the main factor affecting the quality of drilling and blasting operations. That is why we proposed using a drone and artificial intelligence to determine the geometric parameters of the site in order to adjust the volume of explosives and the area of work. In addition, they came up with ideas to install chambers on the excavator to analyze the composition of the separated rocks. Alexey Nikolaevich Shevchenko, Director of the Institute of Subsoil Use, and Associate Professor Tatiana Yurievna Krasikova provided great assistance in solving the case. The Marika team would also like to thank Evgeny Nikolaevich Belyaev, Head of the Center for Surveying and Geodetic Innovations, and Sharif Rustamzhonovich Okhunov, Curator of the Alidad Scientific Research Center," said Danil Kirikov.

The winners and prize-winners of the mining field were awarded by Vladimir Sokolov, head of the Mirninsko-Nyurbinsky Mining and Processing Complex.

The contestants of the Geological Exploration direction also solved the case of a diamond mining company. The most reasoned answer was provided by the GSSS team, which included Yana Hnatyuk. – silver medalist of the XII CASE-IN season in Moscow. The diplomas were presented to the junior colleagues by Denis Koshkarev, Head of the Forecasting Department of the ALROSA Mineral Resources Management, who has been an expert at the IRNTU site for the sixth year.

Project defenses in four more areas – electric power, thermal power, design engineering and petrochemistry - will be held on March 18.

The organizers of the CASE-IN are the Reliable Shift Foundation, the Non–profit Partnership Youth Forum of Mining Leaders, and AstraLogica LLC with the support of the presidential platform "Russia is a Land of Opportunities." The partners of the event are federal agencies and companies of fuel and energy and mineral resources complexes, petrochemical and nuclear industries, metallurgy, architectural and construction design. The title partner is the Alabuga SEZ. The championship is included in the "Science to Win" initiative of the plan for the Decade of Science and Technology in Russia.

Traditionally, schoolchildren, students and young professionals take part in the intellectual tournament. They solve engineering cases. The best teams undergo internships in the partner companies of the project with the possibility of employment. Over the past 13 years, CASE-IN has grown into a large-scale ecosystem that unites more than 100 schools and universities, 170 industry companies, 6,000 mentors, experts and curators, as well as many services and resources.

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